Overseas jobs hit 43-month low in April as Saudi recruitment drops 64%

Bangladesh sent 49,983 workers abroad in April 2025—marking the lowest monthly figure in 43 months—as recruitment in Saudi Arabia dropped by more than 64% compared to the previous month, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

The sharp decline in Saudi recruitment is attributed to the mandatory attestation requirement by the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh for single visa holders, strictly enforced since late January.

The BMET has also implemented strict measures to issue immigration clearance cards following allegations that many Bangladeshi workers were arriving in Saudi Arabia without work permits or confirmed jobs.

Overseas employment in April saw a 52% decrease compared to March and was 41% lower than in April last year, available data shows.

With major labour markets such as Malaysia, the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain still closed due to alleged corruption and mismanagement in the recruitment process, sector insiders fear that the shrinking Saudi market could trigger a significant downturn in the overall labour migration sector.

Labour recruiters had long warned about Bangladesh's overdependence on Saudi Arabia, which accounted for around 57% of all overseas job placements in March. These concerns were realised in April with the sharp drop in foreign employment.

Saudi Arabia recruited 28,671 Bangladeshi workers in April, a significant drop from 80,663 in March. Qatar followed with 6,295 workers, and other destinations included Singapore, Kuwait, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan.

In response to the situation, recruiters have been demanding a simpler process for issuing demand letters for Saudi-bound workers. A large portion of pending visas were cleared in March after protests from recruiting agencies.

A group from the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) is scheduled to form a human chain today in front of Probashi Kallyan Bhaban to demand the removal of complications in issuing BMET clearance cards for Saudi-bound workers and the elimination of syndicates controlling the Malaysian labour market.

They also plan to submit a memorandum to the chief adviser to address these issues.

"After the drop in manpower exports in February, we launched a movement and met with the BMET director general. Following that, the pending demand letters were cleared, and clearance cards were issued. However, in April, the process was stalled again, and many workers didn't receive their BMET clearance cards," Mohammad Fakhrul Islam, former joint secretary general of Baira, told TBS.

He also urged the government to initiate diplomatic efforts to reopen closed labour markets and explore new destinations in Europe, where demand for skilled workers is high.

Saudi visas for Bangladeshi workers fall into two categories – single visas and group visas. Group visas, covering deployments of more than 25 workers to the same company, have long required embassy attestation.

While this requirement was previously relaxed for single visas, it was reinstated after reports surfaced of workers arriving in Saudi Arabia without jobs or valid Iqamas (work permits). The attestation process is aimed at verifying job offers and reducing worker exploitation.

In a recent statement, BMET said that the attestation requirement is in line with the Foreign Employment and Migration Act 2013 and the 2017 regulations, designed to ensure safe migration.

Initially, the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh allowed faster processing to facilitate migration, considering Saudi Arabia's role as Bangladesh's largest labour market. However, reports of poor working conditions and premature returns led to stricter enforcement.

To improve efficiency, the embassy has launched a digital system for online attestation of demand letters.

Substantial progress in UAE visa resumption for Bangladeshis

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made significant progress in resuming visa issuance for Bangladeshi nationals following sustained diplomatic engagement.

Yesterday, UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulla Ali ALHmoudi met with the Chief Adviser's Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi in Dhaka.

During the meeting, the ambassador expressed appreciation for Siddiqi's proactive engagement with the UAE government in recent weeks, which included over half a dozen ministerial visits covering visa facilitation and investment cooperation, according to a press release from the Chief Adviser's Office.

Ambassador ALHmoudi informed the special envoy that the UAE Embassy in Dhaka is now issuing 30–50 visit visas daily.

Additionally, bulk visa processing for business delegations has been expedited, boosting both people-to-people and commercial exchanges.

In a major development, the UAE Ministry of Human Resources has reactivated its online system for skilled employment visas. As a result, visas for professionals such as marketing managers and hotel staff have been issued recently. Furthermore, 500 visas for security guards have already been granted, with another 1,000 approved and awaiting issuance.

It is expected that the UAE will gradually ease visa restrictions further in the coming months.